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Krista McGuire

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

Krista McGuire, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, joined Barnard’s faculty in 2009. Her primary research interests include determining the factors that structure microbial communities, how mycorrhizal fungi influence plant community structure, the impacts of global change on microbes, and tropical ecology. She has spent a significant amount of time studying microbes in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America, and currently leads projects in Malaysia, Puerto Rico, and on various components of green infrastructure in New York City.

Professor McGuire’s research is currently supported by the National Science Foundation. At Barnard she teaches courses on Microbiology and Tropical Ecology.

As an expert in microbial ecology, Krista McGuire's research has taken her from the Guyana rain forest to Alaska's boreal forests. She studies the role of fungi in critical environmental issues such as global climate change, plant extinction, and deforestation. This year McGuire joins Barnard College as an assistant professor of biological sciences. "Barnard seemed like the perfect fit because it has a liberal arts curriculum, plus all the [research] resources of Columbia," she says. "It's kind of the best of all worlds."